1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of storing baseball, football, basketball and other collectible cards, and more specifically to a tool for handling and inserting the collectible cards into a protective envelope, without causing damage to the corners or edges of the collectible cards.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A variety of protective envelopes for cards is found in the prior art. Such envelopes protect the cards from dust, dirt and physical damage. They are typically made of a transparent plastic for ready viewing and identification of the cards they contain. However, no means exist to protect the corners or edges of the collectible cards during the insertion process into the protective envelopes. A damaged corner or edge can result in a 50 percent reduction in the value of a collectible card.
An early example of a protective envelope for cards is that of L'Enfant, U.S. Pat. No. 1,671,298, issued May 29, 1928. L'Enfant discloses a card case made up of several protective envelopes bound together in book fashion and having a surrounding cover. To permit withdrawal of the cards, a cut-away section is provided at the open edge of each envelope in the form of a notch which reveals a portion of the card edge. However, L'Enfant's design is for a storage card of the type attached to a wallet. The notch permits grasping the cards for removal from the envelope and no means is provided for protecting the corners or edges of the cards during insertion into the envelope.
A similar though more recent design of a multi-envelope card holder is disclosed in Santilli, U.S. Pat. No. 4,741,372 issued May 3, 1988. Santilli discloses separate envelopes for containing individual cards which in turn are contained within larger envelopes. The separate envelopes, in fact, are provided with the same notch found in L'Enfant to permit grasping an edge of the cards with one's fingers. The notch permits one to pull out cards for everyday use. However, no means is provided to protect the cards corners or edges while inserting into Santilli's notched envelope.
Another variation, in the form of a single card holder, is taught in Drexler, U.S. Pat. No. 4,711,347, issued Dec. 8, 1987. Drexler teaches a plastic envelope for retaining a data card. One face of this envelope is formed of a hinged panel which lays down in overlapping manner on top of two edge strips and is removably bonded to these edge strips with an adhesive. One can thus lift the hinged panel to reveal the surface of the card and then lay the panel down again so that it re-adheres to the edge strips. Drexler thereby provides access to the information storage area of a data card while the card remains in the protective envelope. The problem, once again, is that Drexler provides no means for inserting a card into the envelope without potential damage. However, this type of protective envelope permits the reading and writing of electronic data while enclosed in its protective envelope. Yet Drexler is merely an electronic data protector and is not used as a tool to insert a card into a final storage place.
Another example of the single card holder is found in Mangan, U.S. Pat. No. 4,141,400, issued Feb. 27, 1979. Mangan discloses a holder open at one edge and having stiff ribs on its inner walls. The magnetic strip of a data card slides between these ribs when the card is inserted into the holder. The magnetic strip is thus protected from mechanical damage caused by contact with a wall of the holder. Once again, a notch is provided in the open edge of the holder for grasping the card for removal. However, the corners or edges are not protected during insertion.
It is thus an object of the present invention to provide a tool and method which permits insertion of cards without potential damage to their corners or edges which will cause the value of the collectible card to be significantly decreased.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a tool as described above which is compact and inexpensive.
It is finally an object of the present invention to provide such a tool which is specifically suited for protecting any collectible card during the insertion process into an envelope.